WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1977
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DR. CHUNG REFERRED TO THE UNFAVOURABLE SIGNS OF CHANGE AFFECTING THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY AND SAID IT WAS EVIDENT WE COULD NOT IN FUTURE DEPEND TOO MUCH ON IT FOR OUR CONTINUED GROWTH.
HE STRONGLY SUPPORTED THE PROPOSED ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON DIVERSIFICATION, THE TERMS OF REFERENCE OF WHICH, HE SAID, WERE MUCH WIDER THAN THAT OF AN INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL WHICH HE PROPOSED BUT WHICH WAS REJECTED TEN YEARS AGO.
HE PLEDGED TO SERVE ON IT TO THE BEST OF HIS ABILITY, ALTHOUGH HE SAW THAT ITS TASK WOULD NEITHER BE SIMPLE NOR EASY.
HE QUOTED THE RESULTS OF A RECENT SURVEY IN THE +FORTUNE+ MAGAZINE WHICH GAVE AN INVESTABILITY INDEX' TO 14 ASIAN COUNTRIES. ALTHOUGH HONG KONG SCORED FULL MARKS ON LACK OF RED-TAPE, COMMUNICATIONS AND PROGRESSIVE ATTITUDES, AND SECOND HIGHEST ON GOVERNMENT STABILITY. LABOUR FORCE. HUMAN RIGHTS. LIVING CONDITIONS AND COSTS, RISK-REWARD RATIO, AND CORRUPTION= IT SCORED LOWEST ON RECEPTIVITY TO NEW VENTURES.
+UNLESS THE GOVERNMENT IS PREPARED TO PROVIDE SOME KIND OF INCENTIVE, I BELIEVE IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO IMPROVE OUR SCORE ON RECEPTIVITY TO NEW VENTURES, HE SAID.
DR. CHUNG REITERATED A PROPOSAL FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A BOARD OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION TO CO-ORDINATE PROGRAMME PLANNING AND COURSE DEVELOPMENT FOR THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION.
+THERE SHOULD BE VERTICAL INTEGRATION AND CONTINUITY IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION FROM THE LOWEST TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL.+ CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT IN BOTH QUANTITY AND QUALITY WAS THE PREREQUISITE FOR FUTURE SUCCESS IN INDUSTRIAL DIVERSIFICATION, SOPHISTICATION AND DEVELOPMENT, HE SAID.
REFERRING TO THE PROPOSED CONTRIBUTORY SICKNESS AND DEATH INSURANCE SCHEME, DR. CHUNG ASKED THE GOVERNMENT TO GIVE CAREFUL CONSIDERATION TO MAKING EMPLOYERS ONLY CONTRIBUTE, OR CONTRIBUTE ONE OR TWO PERCENTAGE POINTS MORE THAN EMPLOYEES, AND TO IMPLEMENT THE SCHEME MUCH EARLIER THAN LATE 1980.
PUBLIC REACTION TO THE SCHEME AS FAR AS HE COULD GATHER HAD BEEN MOST ENCOURAGING BUT THESE POINTS HAD COME OUT OF HIS DISCUSSIONS WITH INDUSTRIAL WORKERS.
HE RECALLED THAT HE HAD PREVIOUSLY ADVOCATED A CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND TO PROVIDE LONG-TERM BENEFITS FOR WAGE EARNERS.
THE SCHEME NOW PROPOSED WAS TO BE DIFFERENT FROM HIS IN THREE MAJOR AREAS: IT WOULD BE NON-COMPULSORY ON EMPLOYERS WHOSE EMPLOYEES CHOSE NOT TO JOIN, IT WOULD PERMIT THEM TO CONTRACT OUT IF THEY ALREADY PROVIDED SIMILAR BENEFITS, AND IT REQUIRED CONTRIBUTION FROM EMPLOYEES.
/UNDER PRESENT
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